Blogging

Last week I posted a negative comment in the forums in hope that I would receive some reaction.  Will I did receive some action; a moderator removed my comment.  It was not until this that it really hit me how important moderators are.  They keep the environment safe and free from bullies and trolls who are not contributing to the community.  They also ban spammers.  This did get me thinking though about how does a moderator differentiate between someone who is being a troll and someone who does not agree with the popular opinion.  Moderators can have a lot of power and if they wanted to could censor a lot of free speech in the forums.  I have not noticed this happening but was just an interesting thought.

This week I decided to take a look at the blogs and other videos that the followers of the site post.  I find this to be a very interesting aspect of the site.  Many people of this site want to express their opinions and to do it in an entertaining way.  Many of these members make their own video reviews on games, movies, shows, etc. and they range from serious reviews to funny reviews.  Even though most of the posts are videos there are still some that are written blogs.  I have learned that this site has a history of promoting from within, meaning that some times they choose on of their members to become a paid contributor for the site.  There is also a class of bloggers on this site who are very popular.  I find it interesting because even though they are not official site contributors and are not paid many of them have reached a level of celebrity.  This leads me once again to ask the question of do people on the Internet just want to be known?  Communities like this can give a sense of belonging and importance.  In the past someone who had most of their relationships online would be called a nerd or a loner but is this they way social groups are moving?  Are we getting closer and closer to a digital community and digital interactions becoming the normal kind of interaction?

            I have debated for a while and decided that I will post a blog post on the site.  I just want to see the kind of feedback I can get.  I will do a written blog and review a recent movie.  I will try to be humorous and see if I can get any readers and commenters.